Best Place to Buy Vinyl St. Louis 2009 - The Record Exchange

As music distribution becomes increasingly digitized, vinyl records — those big, flimsy slabs that CDs were supposed to have made obsolete — have managed to hang on, even experiencing a resurgence in popularity. Chalk it up to nostalgia, fetishism or sound quality, but selling music in twelve-inch increments remains big business. For experienced crate diggers and neophytes alike, the Record Exchange is a gold mine of hard-to-find albums and dollar-bin staples alike. The main floor houses untold thousands of records, from soul to rock to classical, but be sure to take a gander at the 45 rpm discs in the upstairs loft. There you'll find everything from rare Motown singles to cheese-tastic picture sleeves from the '80s — and everything in between.